Last month, Richard Branson’s space enterprise, Virgin Galactic, was accused by Boeing and its affiliate Aurora Flight Sciences of hanging onto trade secrets and unpaid debts. Virgin has now responded with a claim of their own.
Reports indicate that Virgin Galactic had been sued by Boeing and its affiliate Aurora Flight Sciences. The lawsuit states that Aurora supplied Virgin Galactic with confidential information and that Virgin Galactic has failed to pay over $26 million in bills.
The Boeing subsidiary was to manufacture a new Mothership, the high-altitude plane meant to transport Virgin Galactic’s shuttle to the edge of space, in 2022. But by 2023, Aurora had completed only two orders before terminating the contract. Following careful consideration of the timetable and budget, the builder determined that it would be financially and logistically impossible to construct the Mothership.
In addition to the $26 million in outstanding invoices, Virgin Galactic faces additional claims that it refused to relinquish certain equations, which are trade secrets belonging to Boeing, as part of the lawsuit.
The faltering aerospace firm was accused last week of poor and unfinished work in Virgin Galactic’s countersuit against Boeing and Aurora.
Reports reveal that Virgin Galactic has accused Boeing of illegally trying to recover intellectual property and violating its contract.
Virgin Galactic is suing for $45 million, which it claimed it had previously paid for assistance in creating its next-generation Mothership, a massive aircraft that takes its ship to space. The corporation said it spent more than Boeing’s performance was worth.
Boeing responded, saying they would fight to protect their efforts and intellectual property.
Virgin Galactic is now preoccupied with finishing construction on its Delta-class spacecraft and building a new facility in Arizona this year while being involved in the fight with Boeing.
The legal dispute arises as Boeing tries to implement a change in the wake of high-profile problems with its jets and the resulting heightened attention and inquiries into its production procedures.
